The Last Swordbender
by nasba
Summary: After what felt like an eternity, the Counter Guardian EMIYA finaly got his chance to change his fate. Now with a new body and a set goal, it is up to him to mend a world torn by war. Bit of AU. Posible spoilers.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations used in this story. The following is a non-profit work of fictions.**

**First off I would like to thank each and every one of you for taking your time to read this drable. After spending a some time on the site and reading a good bit of stories I decided to try my own hand at it. **

**NOTE: english is not my first language, nor have I written anything noteworthy in my native language.**

**Now without further ado**

_**Story start**_

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"Well this is unusual..." That was the only coherent thought in his mind right now. Apart from EMIYA suddenly appearing in an unfamiliar location, that can simply not be described in the human tongue, there was a woman in front of him that he could describe no better than then the location itself. When he felt that he was being pulled, he had thought that this was going to be another summoning. Another slaughter. Another reminder of his fate as a Counter Guardian. That for the rest of eternity he will be a simple instrument of destruction wielded by the hand of Alaya when it saw fit.

But this? This was none of those things. Right now he was standing on his own two feet. Not in a form of a natural disaster, as it usually happens when it comes to the Counter Force. He would have thought that he was summoned into another Grail War, but then he would have received a class and, apart from other things, knowledge of his current time and location. Yet right now he couldn't even tell the colour of the floor he was standing on. He could see it. He could feel the solid ground under him. But no matter how hard he tried, his mind could not comprehend his surroundings. Using _structural analysis_ simply gave him a headache, so he decided focus his attention at the... Woman? Person? Whatever, in front of him, who, despite him not being able to wrap his mind around the... whatevers presence, he could have sworn was smirking at him.

"You should relax a bit. Straining your head about the colour of the floor will do you no good." She, and despite the millions of voices blurred together, he was sure it was a she, spoke as if reading his mind and before he could utter out anything she spoke again: "Now, since you're so eager to get down to business, let me explain a bit. You are here, because I decided for you to be here. What I want from you, is for you to hear my offer out. And as to who I am... Well lets just say that I've been your employer for the past few millennium."

EMIYA's mind was now rasing even harder then before. '_My employer? She decided for me to be here? Is this actually Alaya?_' After coming to th conclusion that it WAS in fact Alaya standing in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a slight temptation to torn the divine presence into a bloody pile of minced meat with every sword he could possibly think of. He supressed that thought, not only because he HIGHLY doubted he could pull it off, but because it was obvious, that his self proclaimed "_employer_" could read his mind.

It didn't seem that she was unnerved by the intentions of the red clad knight in the least. He actually could have sworn that the smirk she was wearing grew into a grin.

"_Well if sh's planing to be so smug, then I suppose there's no need to waste energy talking. Not like I can stop her from reading my mind after all." _At that thought his host's grin relaxed into a satisfied smirk.

"Well if that's how you feel, then I suppose there is no use delaying thing any further. I brought you here to make you an offer. In fact, since I already know your answer, all of this is just a technicality."

"What kind of offer are you talking about?" he asked, after it became apparent that she wants him to ask, refusing to answer otherwise. He was getting impatient. Standing here in front of the one who caused his accursed fate upon him, completely reliant on the whim of what is closest to God that he knows of,powerless to influence anything that transpires, is far from an ideal situation in the Counter Guardians mind.

Sensing his growing unease, the embodiment of the Universe finally spoke again: "How would you like to leave the Throne of Heroes? Permanently." Now that got his attention. Leave? Just like that? Surely there had to be a catch. "Oh there is definitely a catch." Again she answered without him asking. "You earned the title of a hero, so I can't just throw you into the cycle of reincarnation. But I can't just get rid of a spirit as... unique... as yours. So I am planing to put you in a vacant body. One that's young, stong and was SUPPOSED to be destined for great things. Unfortunately the Spirit in that body decided to give up and mostly move on. unfortunately due to certain circumstances it can't do that completely. Now that world is one hero short and less than a year away from ruin. To answer your question: yes it's male." He shut his mouth, the question answered before he could voice it.

Now that was an offer he most certainly could not have expected. A chance to leave. Not just spend eternity "_remembering_" what happened to his copies outside the throne, having memories that are not his, but at the same time his crammed into his head, every moment of his existence. He could be free.

'_But why choose me?' _was the question that was in his head. Surely there were others like him. And shouldn't there be infinite numbers of them, seeing as there are infinite realities? But then that means that there are also infinite realities with situations like the one the he is being offered to fix. But if there infinite worlds like then... "Uhh thinking about those things always makes my head hurt..." He finally said while rubbing his temples. Then he spoke again: "So I get a free pass? What guarantee will I have that after everything will be over I won't just get sucked back here? You said the guy who's body I'm gonna get is meant to save the world."

"Yes he is. But he was meant to save the world properly. It's a threat that would have been within his powers, so there would have been no need for divine intervention. Honestly you'll probably just end up being a proper Heroic Spirit. So think of this as just a trial to test if you should get a promotion."

That was puting things into relatively simple and acceptable terms. A chance to escape his living hell, to start over, to SAVE people again. It's been so long since he actually saved people rather than wipe them out as a natural disaster. All those times being summoned into the Holly Grail War, seeing his younger self determination have made it impossible to give up on that ideal.

The divinity was waiting patiently for him to give an answer. She had said that she already knew his answer and that this was just a technicality. She wouldn't have him here if was going to refuse. For the shortest of moments he considered refusing just to piss her off, but tat thought was brutally shoved aside. His damned existence would probably be made that much worse if he did. So before long he gave his answer: "It seems I'm out of options. Very well. I accept your offer."

"Good man." The faker felt something pulling around him. "You'll have the information on the life of the guy who's body your getting... Among other things " The voice seemed farther and farther away with each word, but it was still undeniably clear what was being said. "The information will be stored in your head like it would be if it was another copy of you after a Grail War. You will know everything that happened, but in a way that you would after reading about it." The voice echoed in his ears now. The world was black. "Good luck."

Finally he saw light again. He felt like he was falling. After looking around he realised that was because he WAS in fact falling. He looked at the direction of his destination, roughly a few kilometres below, taking a quick note than the land around it was all covered in snow and ice. As he neared he thought he heard a familiar voice, a universe away saying something along the lines of "_this should be good"_ over the crunches of what sounded loke pop-corn. He frowned, feeling an unexplainable desire to impale a certain Wizard Marshall. He didn't know what, when or how, but he knew, just KNEW, that something was going to happen and that the damn old man has something to do with it.

Those thoughts went away as he finally reached his destination, going through thick ice into a body of someone who was still a child. Then the world was black again.

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**So what do you think? Should I continue, or am I just wasting everyones time? Please tell me in the reviews.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations used in this story. The following is a non-profit work of fictions.**

**So welcome back. due to mostly positive feedback I decided to sit down and continue writing the story, taking into account all the constructive criticism.**

**I doubt if it's perfect, but if it was it would all down hill from there so I'm not too worried. **

**This is more of a intro chapter. Archer doing his best to figure out what the hell is going on, so there is next to no action. I also decided not to include the conversations between Zuko and Iroh. Keep it in Archers perspective for now.**

**There was some concern about me mentioning Zelretch in the last chapter. Honestly, that was bootlegged in there at the last moment. felt natural to do it. Guess after reading so many fics with him, it felt like tradition that I didn't want to ignore.**

**Note: English is still only my second language. Nothings changed there.**

**Now enough of all that**

** Story start**

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A blinding blue light. That was the only thing to be seen right now. He could hear faint noises, a muffled sound of something hard hitting something else and then a sudden hiss of steam and a loud cracking noise that very quickly culminated into an explosion. The blue light, if possible, became even brighter. He felt himself moving, but noted that he still had no control over the body. The former counter guardian started worrying if maybe he was deceived and the body he was thrust into still had an owner. If that was the case, then he would just be along for the ride at best, and sucked back into the Throne at worst.

"Stop"

He head the words being spoken. The voice, unsurprisingly, was unfamiliar. What did surprise him is that the word was spoken in english. He still could not see, but judging from the voice it was a male, roughly in his teen years. Before any further thought, the blue light dissipated and EMIYA felt the control of the body given to him. unfortunately the sudden change, combined with the fact that he was unfamiliar with his new body and that said body, by the feel of it, was tired beyond belief, so you can't hold it against the reincarnated hero for collapsing to the ground. A very possible fear of the young man that spoke before seizing this opportunity to end his life in this moment of weakness washed over him. To be honest the former Hero of Justice wouldn't have held it against him. After all. Here he was. A possible threat, lying on the ground. Again all he could do is curse himself for his lack of power. He felt a pair of gloved hands making contact with his skin and a poking on his head, with what felt like the end of a bone.

"Stop it"

The former Counter Guardian realised how out of it he was when a second voice spoke. He didn't realise that there was more than one person near him. This one, however seemed female and a couple of years younger than her counterpart. Finally he mustered the strength to force his eyes open. What greeted him was a face of a young woman. Barely fourteen by the looks of it, though it was hard to say due to the thick coat that covered almost every inch of her. A look of genuine concern replaced by a smile that almost rivaled Kiritsugus at the sight of him opening his eyes. For a moment he felt safe. He forced that feeling away. It is most definitely NOT safe. He was in an unknown location, with at least two people of unknown capabilities, who may or may not be hostile. His body in a state that was far from battle ready. He felt frail, tired and he had yet to thoroughly check his circuits. There seemed to be more of them. A LOT more. And there was something different about them. He was not willing to risk using them just yet.

Lucky for him, it seemed that for the time being the people around him were willing to not take drastic actions. Realising that if it came down to a confrontation he would be at a disadvantage, he decided that the best course of action would be to attempt conversation. That way he could try to gather valuable information while keeping his options open. Not the best plan he ever had, but at the moment he lacked valuable information so he'll just have to wing it until he gets a good feel on his position in all this.

Pushing his luck, he decided to speak up: "I need to ask you a few things." He winced at the sound of his own voice. It was so weak and frail, it was almost pathetic to listen to.

"What?" She asked without hesitation. "What is it?" She seemed so eager to comply. It unnerved him a bit. Didn't she realise that he could be a threat? That he could just be waiting for her to let her guard down? Was she so trusting and naive, or was that just an act to get his guard down? It could very well be. He wasn't sure what she would gain from that though. He was in a position where she could very easily snap his neck, suffocate him, and there was little he could do about it. Though perhaps she felt his energy slowly returning to him and decided to just play it safe. Though... he was probably just being paranoid. He know he had a tendency to do that often. These weren't Heroic Spirits he was dealing with. It was just kids. Kids that were just in the wrong place at just the right time. He was still alive so he decided to see the kids as neutral for the time being.

"First things first. Can you let me stand up? Lying on the ice isn't doing me any favors." He hoped that he was not pushing his luck and that these two will not decide that its better to keep him on the ground. But frankly if he has to spend any longer siting on the ice, he will probably go numb. He already felt his legs and hands getting frostbite.

"Uhh... sure" She moved away a bit. Seems like his tone put the girl on her guard. Maybe she wasn't as trusting as he made her out to be. He decided to be careful not to antagonize the girl any further. He might be feeling a bit stronger than he did a minute ago, but he would still prefer to avoid conflict with foes of unknown capabilities where possible.

Standing up was a more interesting experience than it should have been. It was like the air around him pushed him up rather than him using his muscles to push himself up. Seems like he was not the only one who found that weird, because the male that has been watching the short exchange of words between him and the young girl reeled back with a yelp. Now that he get a better look at the teen, he fully took in his appearance. A thick blue coat, similar to the one the girl was wearing, if a bit darker and shorter. His head was shaved around the sides, with the hair on the top tied into a pony tail. The most distinct feature of his was the spear. It was nothing special. A crude hunting spear made of bone, but it brought some satisfaction when he felt it being stored in Unlimited Blade Works. That means that he still had his swords. That getting this new body didn't rip everything he was before away. He decided to file that information away for a later time. Maybe when he didn't have the pointy end of a spear inches away from him. Though the stance of the teen was far from perfect, his footing was sure and his hold was firm. But the young man in blue quickly relaxed when the Former Heroic Spirit didn't take any hostile action.

And came a dilemma. He lacked any sort of information. The knowledge about the world around him didn't come pouring into his head like it should. Instead it was slowly dripping into his head. The information was coming as it would if you had a child telling you about his day. Sidetracked at every little detail. It would have been interesting, but right now it was infuriating. He desperately needed information if he was to take any action, but the childish voice in the back of his head wasn't giving anything useful. Instead he got a detailed explanation about the joys of penguin sledding. He could have asked the two other people here, but that would be admitting a weakness. Puting them in a place of power and he wasn't sure if he was comfortable with that.

"Whats going on here?" That was the most basic question that he could have asked. It would hopefully get some answers without getting too much suspicion.

"You tell us! How'd you get in the ice!? And why aren't you frozen?" The teen actually tried to poke him with the spear. The reincarnated hero stepped out of the reach of the spear taking a more defensive stance.

"If you want answers, then you should refrain from trying to impale me. _Someone _might get hurt." That sent the young hunter further on edge. For a moment it looked like negotiations are over and a fight is about to ensure when a low growl filed the air. Everyone the two kids in blue coats jumped at the sound while EMIYA proceed the new information that the voice in the back of his head had given him. Apparently the remnants of the spirit recognised the growl to belong to his... pet?...familiar?... His animal companion. The voice started giving him all sorts of information on the beast. From it's name being Appa, to how he got it. From his favorite food, to the best places to scratch him. At the mention of it being a Root be damned _FLYING BYSON _he couldn't help his curiosity and climbed up the ice he was leaning on not long ago. He idly noted how light his body felt. Like the air around him is actually pushing him in the direction he wants to go. The moment he made his way to the top, however, he was greeted by the sight of a enormous mountain of fuzz moving up and down. He supressed an unexplainable urge to jump and embrace the fury creature and, deciding that the best action now would be caution. He slowly made his way down near the sleeping giant, taking note, that the other two people are slowly looking for an opening into the ice crater, that did not include climbing.

The former Counter Guardian was confused as to what he should do. All the information he received told him that he can trust the bison with anything. That the two of them are best friends, despite one not being human. But common sence told him that he was NOT the creatures friend. He was just someone who stole the bisons real friends body. What if the giant mountain of hair saw that. Some animals have a sence for such things after all. And if the previous owner of his current body left, who is to say that the same didn't happen to the bison? He wouldn't put it past Alaya to cram the spirit of a rabid dog into the creatures hollow body. His fears were put to rest when the breathing hill opened it's eyes and before any action could be made the beast licked him and let out a low satisfied growl. The hero decided to return the favor by using the information he received and scratching the hairy mammal just above the nose. After enjoying a short session of petting the creature quickly stood at the sight of the other two teens entering the crater.

"What _is _that thing?" Looks like the male was still on his guard. The sight of a giant beast that could probably swallow him whole didn't ease the tension most likely.

"This is Appa." He decided that telling the two a name would not give them something to use against him in the future. The girl didn't seem to even hear him, instead taking in the sight of a huge, six legged, horned, fury mountain of a beast. He could only guess what must have been gowing through her mind then and there. He himself was taken aback by the sight. And he had seen his fair share of weirdness. Her companion seemed to be dealing with the sight a lot better than the girl.

"Ok, but what _is_ an Appa?" He didn't seem satisfied with the answer that was given. It did look like he was feeling a lot less hostile though. At this point EMIYA was willing to take what he can get.

Now he had to he see them as potential enemies and withhold information, or potential allies and share what he knows and hope they return the favor. Even before becoming a Counter Guardian he had trouble trusting others. He knew that he was not the target of every other living being on the planet. But he still could not help but have suspicions about the intentions of others.

He doubts that the bison would make plans to kill him. He wouldn't put it past the world to do that to him, but he was sure that the animal would have just attacked him right off if he he had a problem with him. So for now he will see the beast as his only ally.

The two teens were another story. His mind was racing. Thinking of every possible outcome that trusting them could bring. But he had a felling in his gut that these two will help him. That they not only can, but should be trusted. The girls looked like she couldn't tell a lie to save her life. The boy may have been acting hostile, but made no actual threats to his life apart from that little attempt at poking which wouldn't have actually done anything, seeing how dull the spear looked.

"He's my flying bison." He answered the boy. He decided to go with his gut and trust the two. It may have set up all sorts of alarms in his head. But when stuck in an icy tundra with no food and no civilization in sight for miles? Worst come to worst, he was fairly certain he could deal with 2 kids, now that his strength hade come back.

"Right. And this is Katara. She's my flying sister." Surprise, surprise. The armed teen didn't believe him. Couldn't blame him though. The self proclaimed owner of said bison had trouble believing it himself without actually seeing it. Though, probably unintentionally, it gave him some information to work with. The girls name was apparently Katara and these two were siblings. He figured the second part out himself the moment he laid eyes on them, but it was nice to have confirmation.

It was hard to say if it was due to being frozen in ice for so long, or revenge to the teen for doubting his capabilities, but at that moment the bison in question sneezed. That would have been all right on it's own, but the sneeze launched a massive amount of snot into the young hunter. EMIYA was getting ready to defend the bison from retribution the teen might want for the aperient insult, but instead was greeted by an amusing attempts to wipe the snot off.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it will eventually wash out." He could barely contain his smirk. The unlucky victim of the bison sneeze eventually removed the green snot from his face, much to the aperient disgust of his sister. It seemed like a good time to ask more questions, now that the two were distracted: "So do the two of you live near here?"

"Don't answer that. Did you see that crazy bolt of light? He was probably trying to signal the fire navy." Looks like Mr. Pony tail recovered quickly enough from the shock of being covered from head to toe in green snot and was now back on guard. But again he let some information slip. Bolt of blue light? Probably the blue light that blinded him. But whats this about a fire navy? It seems like the voice that was still giving him a rundown of proper bison care heard his question and went into a flurry of information. '_This could be troublesome._' apparently this fire navy was a navy from someplace called the Fire Nation. A land of what is basically very powerful fire mages.

Finlay actual useful information started leaking into his head. Information about the different lands here, which apparently are divided into four different regions by the type of element the people living there use. It was unsettling information. If such a big portion of the population had such power, it might be difficult to face them. He still didn't know the limitations of using these powers, and the child that was relaying the information decided that famous quizines are more important than knowledge that could save his life. On any other day he would have found the topic of cooking relaxing and nostalgic. Now it was distracting him from the situation at hand.

"Oh ya. I'm sure he's a spy for the navy. You can tell by that _evil_ look eye." Before he could finish puting the last bit of information in order the girl brought even more to his plate. It was obvious that she was being sarcastic, but it still gave him more food for thought. '_So she thinks the fire navy is evil? Wonder what caused that worldview compared to the information I was given that showed everyone living peacefully in a land of rainbows. _' So the information going into his head is either stale or biased. He'll have to keep that in mind when he goes over all of it. It also came to his attention that he has no idea how he actually looks right now. He feels like hes bald and his voice sound younger then even either of the teens in front of him.

"The paranoid one is my brother, Sokka. You never told us your name." Paranoid? The guy seemed very lenient given the situation. But this girl, Katara, raised a valid question. Name? The body was formerly known as Aang. If he met someone who knew him before that's what they would call him. But he didn't feel comfortable using that name. It was foreign. It was unfamiliar. But he couldn't tell them that to call him Emiya either.

Before he could decide he felt an overwhelming sneeze building up in his nose. It was aperient that he won't be able to suppress it so he tried being polite and covering his mouth as he sneezed. That was a horrible mistake, as it nearly tore his arm off. He flew roughly fifteen feet into the air before slowly descending. It it was actually a slow decent he didn't build up any speed while falling. The air itself was flowing around him to slow his fall. It was a bit worrying when an element was unconsciously going around and interfering with your life. For now it seemed like it was helping, but soonest he gets the chance he is planing to look into it. It wouldn't do to fall this slow if he was trying to execute a lunging attack.

"My name is Aang. But you can call me Archer." Upon landing he decided that using the class name that he got summoned into more times than he could count, would have to do. It may not have been the perfect solution, but it will be good enough for now.

"You just sneezed... And flew ten feet in the air." Seems like the two siblings forgot about their former question and were now more interested in that little distraction.

"By your expression I take it that's not a common sight around here?"

"Ah! You're an airbender." The girl seemed in awe. But wait.

'_I'm an airbender?'_ That seems like important information. An '_Ops. Did I forget to mention that?_' ringing in the back of his head. It seems like his source of information this time around is not only stale and biased, but unreliable as hell.

"I suppose I am." Was the only reply he could give the girl.

"Giant light beams, flying bison, airbenders... I think I got midnight sun madness." Was Sokka's reply at the declaration. Seems like all this new information is difficult to take in for the young man. "I'm going home to where stuff makes sence."

"I'm not exactly a local here, but I don't think hitchhiking will work too well in these parts." Archer said with a smirk. Sokka seemed a bit insulted at that, but kept his mouth shut.

"You said that's a flying bison, right? Maybe you could give us a lift?" It was his sister that spoke first.

"I suppose there would be no harm in it." Honestly Archer was a bit curious himself as to the flying capabilities of the bison. These two didn't seem dangerous and they would owe him a favor if he helped them. He would still have to keep an eye on them, though. They might just use this as an oportunity to use his kindness and steal the bison. First sign of trouble he will throw the two into the ocean. With that he climbed onto th bison, to where the rope was tied around his horns in a makeshift reign, now with a little more light as to why the air helped him again by pushing him up.

The girl climbed into the saddle that was on the giant bisons back, with a little help from archer, who took this close contact as a chance to better take in the features of the girl.

"Oh no. I am not getting on that fluffy snot monster." Sokka was not as eager as his sister to get on top of the bison, but it was not hard to see that it was only a way to show his dislike of the current situation as he didn't try to stop his sister either.

"Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come along and give you a ride home? You know. Before you freeze to death." The girl asked her brother who for a moment wanted to argue, but thought better of it and quietly got on top of the bison.

"I hope you don't mind that I haven't had the opportunity to install seatbelts just yet." Archer told the two before wondering how this thing actually worked. It was no longer then it took to form the thought that information flooded his mind again. Not just up and down, but a complex list of motions the beast can do mid air, including strafing, flying upside down and barrel rolls. Right now he just focused on getting the lumbering pile of hair to take off. "Appa, yip yip." With a growl the creature slammed its tail, ascended about feet, before belly flopping into the ocean.

'_I shouldn't be surprised."_ Though the voice insisted that Appa was just tired and that he can, in fact, fly, Archer had his doubts.

"Wow. That was truly amazing." Seems like Sokka was just as unimpressed if his bored tone was any indication.

So instead of soaring through the sky, they swam through the ocean. '_Still beats walking_.' Was Archers sole thought between sorting out the information he had received in the past minutes. There was so much to take in. He still kept one eye on the two sibling siting behind him. You can never be too careful in a new place.

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**AN: Next chapter probably wont be up for AT LEAST a week or two. Bear with me. This one came out so soon, because I had a free day, and the positive feedback in PM's and reviews made me try and strike while the iron was still hot, so to say.**


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